NEW YORK — Jennifer Garner tries not to look at reviews of any outfit she wears, because,
inevitably, someone won’t like it.

“It’s not good for my self-esteem,” she said this week while in New York to open the Neutrogena
Sun Summit.

The exception: the Oscars in February, when the actress showed up in a violet custom-made Gucci
gown, which drew raves.

Garner, a Neutrogena spokeswoman, is perhaps more concerned about her skin than she is about her
style. She practices what she preaches about sun safety, and so do her kids.

In her household, donning sunscreen is like wearing seat belts: non-negotiable. Garner said
that, while she was away at the summit, the children would remind their dad (actor-director Ben
Affleck) if he dropped them off at school without their daily slathering.

“I think I once told my kids it was against the law not to wear sunscreen,” she said.

Garner’s appearance at the summit was followed by a panel discussion.

An eager science student growing up, the 40-year-old Garner, a graduate of Denison University in
Granville, said the conference’s terminology — and warnings — about the ozone layer and ultraviolet
rays isn’t lost on her.

She joked, though, that she wouldn’t want to be quoted on exactly what the Helioplex formulation
is or what vitamin C can do for the skin.

But she had her “aha” moment about sun damage in her 20s, when she was out with friends.

“They all had big hats on, and I didn’t. Suddenly, you look one day and the sun damage is there,
. . . and then you see it increase exponentially.”